The British Government is considering updating rules on what it views as unhealthy food – which could mean popular cereals like bran flakes, frequently regarded as “healthy”, being classed as junk food, reports The Guardian.
The new government reforms designed to promote healthy eating are likely to be met with a backlash from some members of the public. For decades, the United Kingdom has been one of the world’s largest consumers of puffed, flaked and sugared breakfast cereals, despite warnings over the years that they might not be nutritious.
Officials say they want to update the UK nutrient profiling model (NPM) to include naturally occurring “free sugars”, alongside refined sugar, when determining what is healthy or unhealthy.
Bran flakes typically contain added glucose from natural ingredients like corn or wheat starch to make them more palatable, so it is likely they will be deemed a “high in fat, salt or sugar” (HFSS) food under the new system.
Dean O’Brien, MD of Kellanova (formerly Kellogg Company), told The Telegraph that the proposed plans had the potential “to unintentionally undo years of work and investment by food companies to encourage healthier choices”.
“Over the past decade, Kellogg’s has reduced sugar by 27% and salt by 22% in its cereals, and under current regulations, all of our children’s cereal, and four of our five bestsellers, are deemed healthy.
“However, under the newly proposed plans, bran flakes, for instance, which are high in fibre and low in saturated fat, would be re-classified as less healthy.”
O’Brien added that breakfast cereals are “nutritionally dense” and Kellogg’s cereals are “fortified with vitamins and iron”.
A government spokesperson said previous nutrition rules were 20 years old and did not reflect the latest dietary advice, and that the “new model shifts the focus from total sugars to free sugars and promotes diets higher in fibre”.
“Obesity and poor diets rob children of the best possible start in life, and this is about supporting parents to raise the healthiest generation of children by restricting the advertising and promotion of junk food.
“We are currently consulting on applying the new model to the advertising and promotions restrictions and will consider all feedback.”
It is not the first time popular cereals have been flagged by nutritionists. In 2009, a survey by the consumers’ organisation Which? of 100 cereals found typical portions of some were found to contain more sugar than a Cadbury chocolate Flake, despite manufacturers’ claims to be reducing the level of unhealthy ingredients.
Many brands perceived to be healthy, including Kellogg’s All Bran, Bran Flakes and Special K, also had high levels of sugar at the time.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
UK bans daytime TV ads for ‘junk food’
Soaring UK obesity rate boosts paediatric diabetes by 41%
High refined grains intake linked with CVD and mortality risk — 21 nation study